


Through the Grapevine

by Sevidri



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, Humor, M/M, News Media, Rumors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23499868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sevidri/pseuds/Sevidri
Summary: "We’re still friends, right?”“Of course. Always,” Dick assured, the rest of his breakfast all but forgotten. “What’s wrong?”“See, you say that, but then I have to find out about your new relationship from the paper.”The Gotham Gazette is under the impression Richie Grayson is dating the Red Hood. They might not be the only ones.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd
Comments: 48
Kudos: 696
Collections: Jaydick Flash Fanwork Challenge





	Through the Grapevine

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Jaydick flashfic prompt "News" and the headline prompt "Wayne Heir Caught Looking Under The Red Hood".
> 
> As always, thousand thanks to frecklebomb for betaing (and for the title) <3

1) Roy

Jason’s phone buzzed angrily on his nightstand, waking him from his too-short slumber. A look at the time confirmed that he had only gone to bed around three hours before. 

He’d spent the entire night with Tim in his ear while he ran across half of Gotham, making sure they rounded up absolutely everyone involved with the hostage situation at the gala. Whoever was texting him at 8am better have a damn good reason.

Instead of a desperate call for help, Roy’s message just read, _Dude, what did you do last night?_

Jason fell back on his bed with a sigh and sent back a single question mark.

 _No seriously, what happened?_ Roy immediately sent back.

 _??????_ was Jason’s only reply. It was far too early for words. Even just typed ones.

He was just about to close his eyes again, not willing to give up on sleep just yet, when Roy’s reply came. _All of Gotham thinks you’re a hero!!!_ And suddenly Jason was wide awake. He pressed the call button without thinking about it. 

“What the fuck?” he said instead of a greeting as soon as Roy picked up. 

Roy just hummed in agreement. “Yeah, man. I went to vote in the weekly twitter poll this morning and you were at 90% hero.”

None of these words made any sense to Jason, least of all in that order. He was pretty sure he didn’t actually want them to make sense either. “Twitter poll?” he asked anyway.

“Yeah, you know, the one the Gotham Gazette runs every week? Hold on.” Jason’s phone chimed with an incoming message and he clicked on the link.

_@GothamGazette: It’s time for your weekly assessment of our lovely city’s most controversial vigilante! Do you think the Red Hood is a_

_1) Hero_

_2) Anti-Hero_

_3) Anti-Villain_

_4) Villain_

Jason closed his eyes and counted to three. When he opened them the tweet was still there. “What the fuck?” he said again.

“You seriously didn’t know about this?” Roy asked, sounding incredulous. “They’ve been doing these for months. The result's usually a lot less unanimous though.”

Jason didn’t want to know. He didn’t. “What’s it usually give me?” 

“Pretty even spread between Hero, Anti-Hero and Villain. Although I’m not sure people really know what an Anti-Villain is supposed to be anway, so maybe there’s some inherent bias there,” Roy mused, like the statistical validity of twitter polls was really the pressing issue here.

“What’s the current result?” Jason asked. It wasn’t like he couldn’t just click on an option and see the results, but something about branding himself a hero or villain felt...bad.

“90% hero, like I said. It’s never been that clear before. What did you do?” Roy asked again. 

Jason groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Just helped out at a hostage situation at a gala. Fuck, of course, there was a bunch of press there. They probably have pictures.” 

Roy made a sympathetic noise. “That’ll do it. Saving a bunch of rich people is great for PR.” 

“It was mostly just—” Jason started, then broke off. “Never mind that. How did you even see this?” he asked instead.

“I vote every week,” Roy said, sounding very proud of himself.

Jason blinked. “Why?” he demanded, and Roy made an affronted noise.

“You know you’re always a hero to me, Jaybird. I gotta make sure Gotham sees it the same way,” Roy declared, and he didn’t even have the decency to sound like he was joking.

“You’re an idiot,” Jason replied, his entire face heating up.

Roy just laughed at that. “Yeah, but you love me anyway.”

————— 

2) Donna

Dick was busy shovelling pancakes into his mouth when his phone rang. He couldn’t help it, he still missed Alfred’s cooking with a burning passion whenever he had to feed himself, and never passed up an opportunity to indulge when he was in Gotham.

He checked the screen, then swiped to pick up with his mouth still half-full. “Donna!”

“Hey, Boy Wonder. It’s been a while.” Dick could practically hear her smile through the phone.

Dick swallowed the rest of his food before he replied. “Way too long. What have you been up to?” he asked, settling in more comfortably at the kitchen counter.

“Oh, you know, this and that. I’m calling for a reason, actually.” 

That made Dick sit up straighter. “What do you need?” 

Donna sighed. “It’s not about what I need, it’s just...I know we haven’t seen each other in a while, but we’re still friends, right?” 

“Of course. Always,” Dick assured, the rest of his breakfast all but forgotten. “What’s wrong?”

“See, you say that, but then I have to find out about your new relationship from the paper.” 

Dick blinked. “What?”

“Right?” Donna continued. “After everything we’ve been through. All the fights and alien invasions, I can’t believe you wouldn’t even tell me in person.”

Dick groaned. “I literally have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not dating anyone.”

“That’s not what the Gotham Gazette says.” Dick could hear the grin in her voice. “According to them you're currently having a steamy affair with your savior, and looking at the pictures I can’t say I blame them for thinking so.”

“What pictures?” Dick asked, already dreading the answer. “And what savior?”

Donna laughed right in his ear. “Your dashing knight in red helmet from last night, of course. It’s all over the gossip blogs.”

“Why do you read Gotham gossip blogs?” Dick asked offhand, most of his concentration already on pulling up the Gotham Gazette website. He didn’t even have to scroll to find the story, the pictures were splashed right at the top of the page.

“How else would I stay up to date with my favorite celebrity?” Donna shot back, but Dick was barely even listening anymore.

The first picture wasn’t so bad. Basically what he had expected given the situation. Jason’s arm was around his waist, the other raised to shoot his grapnel and pull them both to safety. They were pressed together, sure, but there wasn’t really another way to do a quick grab-and-dash-to-safety. Dick had been in that position plenty of times, on either side.

The photo had been taken inside the museum, and while Dick felt like he should probably be shocked that some reporter had managed to get their camera out during an active hostage situation, nothing Gotham reporters did could really surprise him anymore.

It was the other picture that made him do a double take. This one clearly hadn’t been taken by a reporter, but instead showed the hallway just outside the museum’s main hall from the slanted angle of a security camera. The hallway Jason had dragged him off to, to be exact.

The picture didn’t show Red Hood setting Dick back on his feet like he’d expected. Instead, Jason was pushed back against the wall, and while the helmet made it impossible to look at his face, his body language looked open and sort of...welcoming. 

Dick was the one pushing him against the wall, his hands grabbing the lapels of Jason’s jacket in a way that made it somewhat unclear whether he was pushing him back or pulling him closer. He was leaning into Jason’s space like he belonged there, his face turned upwards so he could look at the helmet head on, his lips slightly parted like he was about to kiss the cold metal of the hood.

Dick stared at the picture, not quite believing what he was seeing. 

“You guys look pretty cozy,” Donna’s voice came from the speaker, sharply reminding him that they were still on a call. “I can’t believe you didn’t check for cameras before you decided to flirt with your boy in the middle of a rescue.”

“I was just yelling at him,” Dick interrupted. And looking closely, he could see the picture for what it was, his grip on Jason’s jacket to get his attention and make him listen, their bodies close together so no one else could overhear. It all made sense. Except that wasn’t at all what it looked like. “He grabbed me first, but he should have gotten someone else out after he threw the smoke bomb,” he elaborated weakly.

Donna made a disappointed sound. “I figured it wasn’t what it looked like, but I was hoping for something more juicy than that. Some of Ivy’s pollen maybe, or a particularly distracting distraction.”

Dick snorted. “I think Jason would deck me if I started hitting on him as a distraction.”

Donna hummed. “I don’t know. He looks pretty open to the idea.” And she wasn’t wrong. The Jason in the picture didn’t at all look like he minded Dick grabbing at him, like he was only too happy to let himself be touched and—

Dick shook his head. “Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving,” he argued, poking at the rest of his pancakes, not really in the mood to finish his breakfast anymore. 

“And yet a picture is worth a thousand words,” was Donna’s sagely contribution.

—————

3) Steph

With the exception of the call from Roy, Jason’s day had been pretty unremarkable. His life wasn’t really normal by any interpretation of the word, but for once nothing out of the ordinary happened. It was too good to be true, he should have known it wouldn’t last.

He was making his rounds through crime alley when he heard soft footsteps on the rooftop behind him. He sat down at the edge of the roof, looking down into the mostly deserted street below, and waited for his guest’s next move. 

There was the soft swish of a cape and then Spoiler settled down next to him, leaving only a couple feet of concrete between them. “Quiet tonight, huh?” Jason shot her a look at the innocuous comment. He liked Steph, even though they hadn’t ever really spent much time together, but there was no way she wasn’t up to something, not with an opening like that. 

“I guess,” Jason replied. If she wanted something from him, she was gonna have to come right out and say it. Jason wasn’t giving her an inch.

“Not like yesterday,” Steph continued. “Red said you guys were busy with clean-up all night.”

“Yup.” He shot her a glance out of the corner of his eyes. She was leaning back on the flats of her hands, her legs dangling freely in the air. A picture of guileless innocence.

“I guess that’s one way to get back into the family,” she said out of nowhere. “Didn’t really work for me if I’m being honest, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad plan for you.”

Jason couldn’t help himself. He took the bait. “What are you talking about?”

Steph shrugged. “Obviously, Red Robin and I are better off as friends, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be the same for you. I bet it’s a lot more chill, being B’s son-in-law instead of his actual son.”

Jason was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open. Some days wearing full face cover was more useful than others. “What?”

“The heroic rescue was a nice touch, too. Shows you’re serious about him and can protect him and stuff. Excellent way to break the news, I’m impressed.” Her mask made it impossible for Jason to see her mouth, but there was a slight quiver in her voice, like she was only seconds away from bursting out into laughter. 

Two could play this game. “What can I say, I’m a goddamn gentleman,” Jason shot back and Steph twitched so hard she nearly fell off the roof.

“Wait, what?” she gasped out, one hand coming up to pull down her mask so she could openly gape at him.

Jason shrugged, keeping his posture casual. “People were bound to find out sooner or later. Might as well do it in style.”

Steph’s eyes were huge. “Oh my god, you’re serious. I can’t believe— You’re actually dating?”

Jason braced one foot against the rooftop, and grabbed his grapnel. “I think I hear someone calling for help,” he said, getting up slowly.

“What? No, wait! I have questions! How long have you been—”

“Yup, definitely an emergency,” Jason declared. “See you around.” He jumped off the roof, firing his grapnel and swinging to the next building over, putting a large chimney between himself and Steph while she was still scrambling to get up.

—————

4) Bruce

For all that Dick liked operating out of Blüdhaven, he could admit that he sometimes missed the batcave with all its amenities. It was home, maybe even more than the manor had ever been. Even the surprisingly quiet purr of the batmobile speeding back into the cave was still familiar, after all these years. 

Dick dismounted from the parallel bars and grabbed a towel, wiping off the sweat from his face and arms. “How was patrol?” he asked, walking over to where Bruce was getting out of the car.

“Quiet,” was all Bruce answered. The terseness wasn’t particularly out of the ordinary. Dick was more than used to filling in Bruce’s silences, but the way he paused at the open car door instead of heading straight for the computer to type up his report was strange. As was the fact that Bruce didn’t immediately push back his cowl.

“What’s wrong, are you hurt?” Dick asked, his hands hovering in front of Bruce’s shoulder, afraid to touch before he had more information, as he scanned him for any signs that he was trying to hide an injury. His posture didn’t indicate anything, he wasn’t favoring one side or standing particularly straight to compensate for a loss of balance, but for Bruce that didn’t mean much.

“I’m fine,” Bruce said, but he didn’t push Dick’s hands away, allowing him to take off the cowl. “I told you it was quiet.”

“Okay, good. What’s got you so rattled then?” Dick asked, casually shoving the precious Batman cowl under his arm like a basketball. 

Bruce gave him an unimpressed look. “Will you at least let me change first?” he asked, stripping off the heavy gauntlets.

Dick made a face. “Ah shit, you wanna talk? Before writing your report even? What the hell did I do?” 

Bruce’s expression didn’t change, but he paused for just the tiniest moment. “Nothing,” he said, a bit too fast.

Dick ran a hand through his hair. “Ah fuck,” he said, ignoring Bruce’s disapproving glance. “This is bad. Really bad. I don’t even— Okay, tell me. What are you freaking out about?”

“I’m not freaking out,” Bruce replied, voice perfectly level. 

“Well you’re trying really hard not to, but that doesn’t work on someone who’s been reading you for 15 years.” That made Bruce’s mouth twitch, the tiniest of smiles he couldn’t quite suppress, and Dick breathed out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t mad then, just...uncomfortable. “Okay, fine. I’m gonna give you ten minutes to plan your approach,” he permitted, earning himself another almost-smile.

“How gracious of you.” 

Dick made a vague bowing gesture. “That’s me. Gracious and accommodating to all your idiosyncrasies.” 

Bruce shook his head as he stalked off to the showers without another word, but the silence he left behind wasn’t tense. Dick waited a few more seconds until he was sure Bruce was gone, then got to work.

He settled down in front of the batcomputer and pressed the comm button for the main channel. “Okay, anyone wanna tell me what's freaked B out so badly?” Nothing but silence greeted him. 

He checked just to make sure, but the comm link light was on. They’d definitely heard him. “Seriously, guys?” Still only silence. “Oracle? Anything you can tell me?” That finally got him a reaction.

“Patrol was normal,” was Babs' non-answer. She very pointedly hadn’t said that she didn’t know. Dick sighed, dropping that area of inquiry. 

He hit a different button to open a private line. “Please, help me out, O,” he begged. “He’s really rattled and he wants to _talk_ and I don’t know what to do.” 

He waited a couple of moments, was about to give up and try someone else, when Babs finally spoke. “I just know that he ran into Spoiler earlier this evening. He hasn’t been on comms since.” 

It wasn’t much, but it was a start. “Thanks, O.” The channel disconnected itself, which usually meant that Babs was done talking, so he tried someone else.

“Spoiler?” he asked, but got only static in return. He sighed. That would have been too easy. He opened another channel. “Red Robin?”

“I don’t know anything,” Tim said, far too quickly. Then, “shit,” when he realized his mistake.

Dick narrowed his eyes at the screen. “Spill,” he demanded, but before Tim even had time to evade some more, a voice behind Dick interrupted.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who needed to plan an approach, huh?” Bruce sounded amused, which was good. Dick swivelled around in the chair so he could see him. 

“There’s no way it’s been ten minutes,” Dick accused. Bruce shrugged, reaching across Dick to switch off the active comm channel. He looked much more relaxed now, in sweatpants and a t-shirt instead of the full Batman armor, and Dick allowed himself to relax back into the chair.

“So...you wanted to talk?” Bruce nodded and leaned back against the computer desk, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Still not really comfortable, then.

“I did,” Bruce said. He clearly didn’t actually, would probably rather wrestle with Killer Croc than communicate, but whatever it was seemed urgent enough for him to make an effort. “About the gala last night.”

“Oh, that.” Dick straightened up a bit. “If you wanna tell me off for offering myself as a hostage, you don’t have a leg to stand on. I’ve seen you do the exact same way too many times, and if you think that I’m gonna put some civilians between me and the loaded guns, then—”

“I don’t,” Bruce interrupted. “You handled that remarkably well. You were calm without being suspicious, stopped a panic from breaking out. I don’t like seeing you in danger without your gear but you’re right, and I’m not that much of a hypocrite.”

Dick blinked. That had actually sounded like a compliment, not even a backhanded one or anything. “Well if it’s about something else from the gala, I wasn’t actually there for any of that. Tim and Jason handled all the actual fighting and the clean-up afterwards.”

“Jason,” Bruce repeated and— Oh. Oh no.

“Oh god, you saw the pictures,” Dick realized. “Bruce, really, it’s not—”

“I don’t disapprove,” Bruce interrupted him, and Dick’s mouth snapped shut.

“You don’t?” he managed after a couple of aborted attempts at trying to say anything else that wasn’t just ‘what the fuck’.

Bruce shifted his weight from one foot to the other, straightened up a bit. It was as close to fidgeting as he ever let himself get. “It’s not that I’m not surprised, but I don’t—” He broke off. “You’re good for each other.”

Dick blinked. “We are?”

Bruce nodded, his face serious. “You mellow him out a bit. He’s more focused when you’re there, less concerned with antagonizing me. He trusts you.”

 _He does?_ Dick wanted to ask, but bit his tongue. His face felt warm and it was only partially embarrassment. 

“You’re more relaxed when he’s around, more happy. Lighter,” Bruce continued, and Dick could see the appropriate time to clear up this misunderstanding wave at him as it walked out the door.

He took a deep breath. “So, if you don’t disapprove…” he started, waiting for Bruce to fill in the rest.

“I’m worried you’re not being safe,” Bruce said, and Dick’s brain short-circuited.

This was not happening. There was no way. He was having a fever dream. Maybe he’d gotten hit with some kind of toxin that was only now showing its effects.

“What?” he managed to croak out.

Bruce sighed. “You make each other careless. And I know what it’s like when you get so caught up in another person that you forget to think about—”

“No offense, Bruce,” Dick interrupted, fighting to get his voice back. “But you’re about a decade too late with this particular speech. And my sex life is really none of your business.” He tried to make his voice sound firm, but wasn’t quite sure he’d succeeded.

Bruce’s eyes were wide. “I was talking about your identities,” he said stiffly.

Dick wanted to sink into the floor. Barring that option, he buried his head in his hands. “Right,” he said weakly. “The camera.”

“I trust it won’t happen again.” Bruce didn’t even ask. Dick nodded anyway, not quite able to look at him anymore.

“Can we just forget this conversation ever happened?” Dick mumbled into the bare skin of his arm.

“What conversation? You know I don’t talk unless you make me,” Bruce said, and his voice sounded normal enough that Dick chanced a glance upwards.

“Thanks.” His face still felt hot, but apparently the mortifying ordeal was genuinely over, because Bruce smiled at him. He reached out a hand to ruffle Dick’s hair, then made a face.

“Take a shower and go to bed. It’s been a long evening.”

Dick couldn’t have agreed more.

—————

5) Tim

“Red Robin to Red Hood,” the comm in Jason’s ear chimed and Jason tapped it to acknowledge the call.

“What do you need, little bird?” He could hear Tim’s slight huff of annoyance at the nickname and smirked to himself. 

“I’m tracking a perp and have reason to suspect he’s hiding out in Crime Alley.”

Jason’s eyebrow shot up. “And you’re requesting assistance?” he asked. That was highly unusual, especially for Tim.

“No, just permission to come into your territory,” Tim clarified.

Jason let out a startled laugh. “Well sure, go ahead. I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who even asks anymore.”

Tim hummed thoughtfully. “I think everyone at least still tells you they’re coming over.” A pause. “Well, except Nightwing.” Another pause. “But I guess he doesn’t have to worry about getting shot.”

Jason snorted. “‘course he does. Probably more than the rest of you. Except B, obviously.”

Tim hummed again. It was kind of aggravating. “That’s not what Spoiler says.”

Jason felt heat creeping up the back of his neck. “You know I was only joking,” he defended, but didn’t sound quite as convincing as he would have liked.

Tim made another noise Jason couldn’t quite interpret. “Either way, Gotham seems very supportive of your new relationship.” It was a leading statement. Jason wasn’t gonna ask. He wasn’t.

“What are you talking about?” Damn it.

“You’ve seen the article, right? The Gotham Gazette was very impressed with your heroic rescue of their favorite wayward son.”

“Wayward son?” Jason repeated.

“That’s a direct quote.”

“Of course it is,” Jason muttered, more to himself than to Tim. He hadn’t actually sought out the article, had no desire whatsoever to read about how much everyone’s opinions of him had improved just because he’d pulled the golden boy out of the line of fire. 

Apparently there were pictures.

“It’s not even just Gotham. Buzzfeed got on board as well.” 

Jason didn’t want to know. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You know about their listicle, right? _Top 10 People We Think Richie Grayson Should Date_? They update it every time he shows his face at a public function.” Jason had, in fact, not known about the listicle. Pretty desperately wished he still didn’t, if he was being honest. “Guess who’s number one this time,” Tim continued, completely oblivious to Jason’s agony.

Or probably not oblivious. It was Tim, he probably knew exactly what he was doing, was doing it on purpose even. Jason woefully remembered the time when Tim had been scared of him, but discarded the thought immediately. He didn’t want to go back, was actually sort of happy with his position in life for the first time in a while. He wasn’t gonna let a bit of good-natured teasing ruin that.

“I guess I should be flattered,” Jason responded dryly, and Tim made a noise of agreement.

“You should be, you beat Batman.” 

Jason choked on nothing but air. “What?”

“He’s usually right on top of the list. Well, I think he is for most of Gotham’s celebrities, to be honest. And he’s saved Dick in public before so there’s that,” Tim continued, while Jason tried to regain control of his breathing.

“Do B and N know about this?”

“Oh, I’m sure they do, but it’s one of those things they refuse to acknowledge.” Tim sounded amused. Jason couldn’t blame them. 

“Who else is on the list?” Jason asked, and Tim made another thoughtful noise.

“Scoping out the competition?” he asked, and Jason snorted.

“Yeah, right.” Jason wasn’t naive enough to think a stupid listicle would give him anything useful. Like the twitter poll, it was just another way to track their superficial public perceptions without any substance behind it. It would blow over soon enough.

To his surprise, he liked that thought less than he’d expected. There was something kind of...flattering about people assuming he was Dick’s boyfriend. Even if it was only for Dick’s frivolous public persona.

“You know, Spoiler is really convinced you’re dating,” Tim snapped him out of his musings.

“Guess I’m just too good an actor,” Jason shot back, feeling strangely wrong-footed.

“I don’t know. I could see it.” Jason froze on the edge of the rooftop he was about to leap off. “I mean, sure you still argue a lot, but he genuinely cares about you, you know? And I know you—”

“Stop,” Jason interrupted him. “You don’t know anything.” 

“I’m a detective,” Tim said, not even a little bit ruffled by the harshness of Jason’s tone. “I know lots of things.” It was a somewhat ominous statement. Basically begging Jason to walk right into another trap.

“Well if you want to find your perp in my territory you better stop knowing things,” he said instead of engaging. This was bad enough already, he didn’t need to listen to Tim talk about all the things he thought he knew, all the things he’d seen Jason do, all the little ways in which he’d given himself away.

It just had to be Tim, who’d been there that evening to watch him throw all caution and strategy to the wind and go to grab onto Dick the second he saw him surrounded by armed hostage takers. It had been stupid, reckless. No wonder Dick had yelled at him afterwards, but in the moment all Jason had wanted was for him to be safe.

Tim hadn’t even commented on it during clean-up afterwards, hadn’t said a single word about it, which Jason could only assume meant he’d already drawn all the conclusions he needed. Tim really had been the worst possible person to see that. Cass would have seen more, but she knew how to keep things to herself. Tim liked to poke and prod.

“Fine. Can I still come over if I drop it?” Tim asked, surprising Jason once again, and Jason felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. He hadn’t even noticed he’d been reaching for his guns.

“You’re always welcome, baby bird,” he said, then cancelled the connection.

—————

+1) The Article

_My dear fellow Gothamites, it’s no secret that our esteemed city comes with its own unique set of challenges. Other cities deal with pollution and too much traffic. Gotham has costumed super villains._

_It must come as somewhat of a surprise then, that yesterday’s charity Gala at the Gotham Museum of Natural History was accosted not by the likes of the Joker or Scarecrow, but was instead held up by a group of what looked to be garden-variety criminals._

_Despite a state-of-the-art security system and four times the usual number of guards, the museum ended up at the mercy of ten armed gunmen._

_Witness accounts report that Richard Grayson, Bruce Wayne’s eldest son and his stand-in at the function, drew the focus of the perpetrators by offering them a generous sum to try and make them leave, a tactic that unsurprisingly ended with him being held as the primary hostage._

_Well, we don’t love our wayward son for his smarts._

_The incident found its happy end when help in the form of Gotham’s very own caped crusaders arrived. It wasn’t Batman, like many of the Gala's patrons had doubtlessly hoped for, but Red Robin made a more than worthy replacement, with a surprise assist from the Red Hood._

_Speaking of Gotham’s resident bad boy vigilante, his first move was not to take out the gunmen, as seems to be his usual MO, but instead to grab the handsome hostage and abscond with him._

_The Gotham Gazette was able to obtain security footage that sheds some light on this peculiar behavior. Judge for yourself, Gotham, but we certainly think these two make a smoking hot pair!_

_The incident ended without any injuries, though some of the perpetrators managed to (temporarily?) escape our heroes._

_We’re dying of curiosity though! What do you think, Gotham? Is the one and only Richie Grayson dating the Red Hood, or is it just a steamy affair? Send us your thoughts at—_

“Reading your own press? That’s a bit conceited, isn’t it?” a voice from behind Dick interrupted his thoughts.

He turned around to smile at Jason. “Gotta keep up with all the gossip,” he replied.

Jason was leaning in the doorway, wearing casual clothes instead of his uniform and helmet, not even a domino in sight. It had been far too long since Dick had been able to see his eyes, and he couldn’t help but take in the view.

Jason looked good, if a bit too tense for Dick’s liking. He lifted his hand to run it through his hair when their eyes met, an unusual nervous gesture. Or maybe not unusual. It had really been far too long since they’d interacted out of costume. 

“I wanted to apologize for that, actually,” Jason said, dropping his gaze.

Dick blinked. “What? The gossip?”

Jason shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. “All of it. You were right, I shouldn’t have gotten you out first. I just— I don’t like people pointing guns at you. People who aren’t me, I mean,” he joked, but it didn’t manage to take away any of the sincerity of his earlier comment.

“Oh hey, no, it’s fine,” Dick cut in hastily, before Jason could get embarrassed and retreat again. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you for saving me. I didn’t realize Tim was there as well, I thought you’d just left the party full of rich people to fend for themselves.” Dick’s eyes widened. “No that I think you would—”

“The temptation’s there, I have to admit,” Jason said with a shrug, but the smirk on his face showed he didn’t really mean it. Dick wasn’t quite sure what expression he was wearing, if the happy little fluttering in his chest at seeing Jason so relaxed, so comfortable, somehow showed on his face, but it had made Jason blush. Another advantage of seeing him without the helmet.

“I, ah, actually wanted to apologize about that as well. The Gala,” Dick clarified. “It’s my fault we got caught on camera like that. I know that can’t be good for your reputation, to have people think you’re— shacking up with some vapid C-list socialite.”

Jason shot him an amused look. “Give yourself a bit more credit. You’re B-list at the very least. And I doubt anyone’s gonna care that I apparently got myself a pretty boyfriend.” As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes widened. “Not that I think—”

“That kinda seems to be what everyone thinks,” Dick cut in quickly, waving the folded up paper at Jason. “Have you actually read it?” Jason shook his head, so Dick held it out for him to take. “I kinda can’t really blame them with pictures like that.”

Jason froze as soon as he unfolded the paper. “Jesus, I didn’t realize it was this bad,” he said, sounding a bit choked. Dick moved closer to see what he was looking at.

It was the picture, of course, the one with Dick pressing him against the wall. He could still remember the situation so clearly, the rush when Jason had pulled him out of the main hall and deposited him in the abandoned corridor. The surge of adrenaline that grappling always gave him, mixed in with his shock at being removed from the situation so suddenly, and the feeling of powerlessness that always made his chest flare up hot in anger.

Dick had the urge to apologize again, but the look on Jason’s face made him reconsider.

Jason looked— heartbroken was too strong a word, but he looked a bit like someone had just torn up his favorite book in front of him.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” Jason said, completely out of nowhere. “I didn’t realize—” There was more red creeping up his cheeks, but it wasn’t quite the same as when Dick had been teasing him earlier. He was holding himself far too rigid, the line of his spine straight and stiff.

“What’s wrong?” Dick asked, but Jason just shook his head.

“I should leave,” he said, shaking himself out of his trance and throwing the paper on the kitchen counter like it was poisonous. “Sorry, about—” he broke off, then started edging towards the window like he was going to use it as his escape.

Dick didn’t want him to leave like this. Without even thinking about it he grabbed Jason’s shoulder and pushed him back against the counter to stop him from getting away, and— 

It wasn’t anything like the scene in the picture, they were in a brightly lit kitchen instead of a gloomy museum hallway for one and neither of them was in uniform.

Jason still reacted the same though, instead of pushing Dick away on instinct or bracing himself, he just— gave in. Opened up his body to Dick, his hands down by his sides and his shoulders back, like he couldn’t even imagine curling in on himself defensively or even just attempting to put some distance between them. 

The main difference was that this time Dick could see his face, could see the way Jason’s eyes flickered over his face, how his lips parted just the tiniest fraction, like Dick had startled him but not in a bad way. More a helpless kind of wonder, like he couldn’t quite believe he was in this position but had thought about it before.

“I never realized before,” Dick said, picking his words carefully, watching for Jason’s expression all the while. “How you react to me.”

Jason closed his eyes at that, a somewhat pained expression crossing his face, but he still didn’t move away or get defensive. “I’d appreciate it if we could just forget about it,” he said, and his voice sounded hoarse, like he was biting down on a whole batch of emotions. It was fascinating.

“I don’t think I want to,” Dick replied, and watched Jason’s eyes fly open in response, giving him a look of wary apprehension. “I think I want to kiss you instead.”

Jason let out a startled, breathless laugh. “Well, I’m clearly not gonna stop you.” And that was really all the confirmation Dick needed. He pressed their lips together in a kiss far softer than their position warranted. It felt right though, being careful with this new, fragile thing between them.

A soft gasp escaped Jason’s lips and his hands flew up to Dick’s shoulders in turn. He didn’t try to pull him closer though, didn’t try anything in fact, like he just wanted to touch, feel out the shape of Dick’s body underneath his clothes, and that was the final straw.

One of Dick’s hands wound up in Jason’s hair, gripping tight as he used it to angle Jason’s head just how he liked it, turning the kiss from soft and gentle to something much hungrier. Jason didn’t seem to mind, by the way his hands tightened on Dick’s shoulders, how he finally gave in as well and pulled them closer together.

Still, it was Jason who finally broke the kiss. “Hold on,” he gasped out, and Dick reluctantly put enough distance between them to look each other in the eyes. Jason’s cheeks were flushed, his hair messy from where Dick had run his fingers through it, and his lips an enticing shade of red. It was a very good look. 

“Hold on,” Jason repeated, though the way his eyes couldn’t seem to move away from Dick’s lips, couldn’t seem to stop drinking him in, made the command lose some of its weight. So did the way his eyes closed when Dick ran his fingers along the back of his neck in a soft caress.

“Wanna take this somewhere more private?” Dick asked, his own voice much huskier than he’d expected, and they should probably talk about this, should probably make sure they were on the same page, but the way Jason’s eyelids fluttered at the suggestion made the desire to take him back to his own apartment spill over and drown out all common sense.

“Fuck, yes,” Jason gasped out, and then very counterproductively pulled Dick into another kiss.

—————

They didn’t do much talking for the next few hours. It was only when Dick noticed Jason slowly go tense next to him while he was still solidly trying to enjoy the afterglow that he finally decided to say something.

“I don’t know how you feel about this,” he started, running his fingers along Jason’s side in a soothing gesture. “But this isn’t just a one time thing for me. I like you, Jason.”

He could feel the movement of Jason’s chest underneath his hand as he let out a breath. “Good,” Jason finally said. “That’s good.” He paused. “I, uh, like you too. Obviously.” He sounded hesitant in the way Dick knew meant he was embarrassed, so he leaned up just enough to press a quick kiss to Jason’s jaw.

“Good,” he simply replied, getting comfortable against Jason’s side and settling in for a nice post-sex nap. A low chuckle from Jason broke the restful atmosphere and he opened one eye to shoot him a questioning look.

“Sorry, I just—” Jason started, then let out another chuckle. “I can’t believe we have the Gotham Gazette to thank for this.”

“Best thing Vicki Vale has ever contributed to,” Dick replied with a smile of his own, then settled in deeper and finally went to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!


End file.
